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Saturday, September 17, 2016

1,001 stories through the archway

What adventures and discoveries happen when you walk through the stone archway pictured in this old German postcard?

The answer could be anything.

I chose to write about this image and its storytelling possibilities even before I knew what Ein Blütentraum meant. It translates, quite wonderfully, to something along the lines of "Blossom Dream" or "Flower Dream" or "Beautiful Daydream."

A forest full of perplexed people who walked through the archway and can't get back?

The possibilities are only limited by our imaginations, which should never have limits. Show this postcard image to your child or grandchild and ask them what they think is on the other side of the archway. Encourage imagination and dreaming and crazy/silly/outlandish ideas.

I'm planning — soon, but no launch date yet — to start a new website called Create-A-Tale, which will use images such today's post, this one and this one and this one to hopefully serve as a jumping-off point for kids to dream up, create and share their stories and ideas.

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About the Author

I'm Chris Otto, a Pennsylvania resident and journalist whose hobbies and interests include old books, ephemera, history, folklore, alpacas, photography and much more. Never stop reading, learning and asking questions! I consider this blog to be a spiritual descendant of Microsoft Encarta and a companion to Wikipedia. Every piece of paper tells a story.
Reach me at chrisottopa (at) gmail.com.

As (kind of) featured in The New York Times...

Papergreat was mentioned in Stephanie Clifford's August 7, 2011, article in The New York Times titled "Shopper Receipts Join Paperless Age." Find out why, years ago, I held onto a receipt for a hot dog!

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